Oh, running. Why must you hurt us so?*

Do you not feel our love? Do you not realize that when we tack on those extra miles -- even though we know, deep-down, that we have gone far enough already -- we do so out of love? Out of a desire to keep the good feelings going?

Do you not see that running too fast, too hard, too often is just our way of showing how much we care? How into you we are?

No? You think that if we really loved you we would approach you with restraint, huh? You think we'd run within ourselves, conservatively increasing our miles by 10% a week, building up to races rather than running them weekend after weekend, and interspersing easy runs with the hard, short runs with the long.

I don't know. That sounds so . . . restrained. Doesn't leave much room to show the love.

OK, fine. You think that sometimes we love you too much. Well, maybe we do. But, man. It's just love. And the way you've been known to repay us for this love? It's pretty harsh. Injuries. Insomnia. Fatigue. Never-ending colds. General malaise.

And what happens then, huh? We end up having to take a break from you for days, if we're lucky, weeks or months, if we're not. And let me tell you, that just sucks.

So what's runner to do when all she wants to do is run? When she wants to make sure that her love of running won't interfere with her ability to do it?

I guess a runner follows these guidelines of restraint:

• Train like an elite marathoner. More specifically, get enough rest. Whenever Deena Kastor talks about her training, she mentions that getting adequate rest is a critical component. In this article, she talks a little about how she sleeps 10-14 hours a day and takes a nap every day. Rest. Yeah, it's important.
• Balance mileage increases with decreases. I've found that I can't increase my mileage by only 10% a week. Sometimes I have to run more. So, I try to balance a week of higher mileage by pulling back a little the next.
  
• If you think you might have the start of an overuse injury, take a day or two of rest. Catch an injury early and you'll most likely be sidelined for less time.
• Focus on one increase a week. Don't tack on lots of miles to your long Sunday run and complete a tougher than usual speedwork session and go long for your midweek tempo run and run hill repeats all in the same week. Really. Not a good idea.
  
• Find something else to do. There are days when you'll want to just get out there and run even though you know that you should rest. On those days, if you must exercise do something other than run. Like what? Well, I'm a runner. I don't do much else so I don't have a lot of suggestions for what has worked first-hand. Maybe go for a walk? Take the 100 push-up challenge? Try yoga? Think about it. You'll find something.

But don't, whatever you do, stop showing the love. You love running, I know you do. You wouldn't be tempted to overtrain if you didn't. But show the love in a more -- dare I say -- restrained way. Do it and running will keep on loving you back.

*This post is part of Runners Lounge Take it and Run Thursday. The topic? Overtraining -- Just say no!

Do not be afraid.

When I first moved to this neighborhood, I thought there was no way I'd be able to run up all the hills. They are long. And some are steep. And there are many of them. And I was used to running of flat city streets. Not hills.

Then I laced on my sneaks and headed out for a run. I gave it a shot. Sure, it was tough and the hills conspired against me. But, what else was I going to do? Drive to a more ideal (read: flatter) place to run? No way. I'm a head out the door and go for a run type of gal.

So, the first run was tough. The second one was probably tough, too. But then I became tough. I became the runner running up those hills, showing them that they can conspire against me no more!

Now, I love my hills. I consider myself a hill runner. Bring it on, I say.

I tell you this, why? Because that is what running can do for you. It can make you stronger and more equipped to overcome challenges -- faced while running or not. If you stand at the bottom of long, seemingly never ending hill and say, "I'm running to the top of this thing," and then you do it, well, you can pretty much feel confident that you can take that strength and apply it to all other areas of your life.

So, don't be afraid of the hills. Run strong: Maybe that means running slowly, or speeding up to get it over with quickly. Maybe it even means taking a break along the way. Whatever it means, just take on those hills and feel proud when you get to the top.

Do-over Day

This do-over thing was the right idea.

Today, I completed Week 2, Day 1 of the push-up challenge. It was a total breeze! I couldn't believe it. The schedule called for five sets of push ups, with 60 seconds of rest in between sets. The sets went like this: 12, 12, 9, 7, max (at least 10). I cranked out 15 for my max and felt pretty psyched about that! I think I'm getting better at these push ups and I believe that doing Week 2 over again will help me in the long run.

So, having learned that do-overs are good things, I'm hoping to take a do-over on eating. Let's just say that my diet while on vacation was a little less than stellar. We're talking Doritos, M&Ms, Cheetos, ice cream, burgers . . . it goes on and on. But, you know, it was vacation and that's a time to let loose.

Now, though, I'm all over the healthy eating and, in fact, I'm looking for new ways to healthify (so what if it's not a word???) my diet. I found this interesting article, which made me pleased that I eat blueberries and cinnamon and reminded me to get that Asian cabbage salad recipe from Bridget. It's also prompting me to bring back the beets. I love them. Why haven't I been eating them? Dunno -- but I think I will start again!

My first step in refining my diet is to drink more water. I will hydrate! I will!

Can I have a do-over?

I need one for the push up challenge. While on vacation this week, I just didn't make the time for push ups. So, I'd like to take a do-over on Week 2 and start fresh on Monday. Thank you.

As for running, however, I definitely made time. I ran four times while away and it was terrific! I had mapped out a few routes before heading down to the shore and I found that doing so really helped to make sure I went out for my runs and enjoyed them. I varied the routes a little after I found out that Avalon (where we were staying) had a little boardwalk along the beach that was perfect for running.

Running gave me some much needed time alone while staying in a beach house with 16 (count 'em!) other people and it was a neat way to see more of the town.